Tis the season! Hallmark Channel is skipping right over the autumn season and getting fans into the holiday spirit with the announcement of its annual “Countdown to Christmas” lineup.
Hallmark Media is kicking off the holidays on Friday, October 21, with Noel Next Door starring Natalie Hall and Corey Sevier. The festive film, which will air on Hallmark Channel, is one of 40 new movies coming to both Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries from the end of October through the end of December.
While the “Countdown to Christmas” event will be taking over Hallmark Channel over the next few months, the “Miracles of Christmas” programming will be anchoring Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel.
This year’s lineup, which was first reported by Variety on Thursday, September 22, will include many firsts for the company. Fans of the network will be happy to learn that three of Hallmark’s leading men — Andrew Walker, Tyler Hynes and Paul Campbell — will finally be costarring in a seasonal film called, Three Wise Men and a Baby.
In the movie, which debuts on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, November 19, the actors will portray brothers who “get the surprise of their lives” when they find themselves responsible for a taking care of a baby over the holidays, according to the official logline.
Stories about Chinese American culture — Christmas at the Golden Dragon and A Big Fat Family Christmas — will be in the spotlight this season. The first Kwanzaa-themed film, Holiday Heritage, featuring Lyndie Greenwood, Brooks Darnell and Holly Robinson Peete, will also premiere in December.
Hallmark is continuing to diversify its portfolio, bringing relationships of all kinds to the forefront. In fact, The Holiday Sitter, starring Jonathan Bennett and George Krissa, will be the network’s first holiday feature with an LGBTQ+ couple as the lead characters.
Plus, the company’s new Mahogany banner is releasing its first Christmas-specific film called The Holiday Stocking. In an effort to expand its reach, Hallmark will launch its DaySpring banner with the premiere of The Gift of Peace.
Of course, the joy-filled lineup will also include a slew of other familiar faces such as Lacey Chabert, who will appear in her 12th Christmas movie for the company with Haul Out the Holly. Fan favorites Alison Sweeney and Luke Macfarlane will costar in November’s A Magical Christmas Village while Ryan Paevey and Brooke D’Orsay will join together for December’s A Fabled Holiday.
Scroll down for Hallmark’s complete “Countdown to Christmas” and the “Miracles of Christmas” lineup: